Pharmacyexprezz superintendent pharmacist Waheedat Owodeyi chaired a panel talk at The Pharmacy Show last week (October 12) with five women pharmacists giving advice on how women can prosper in community pharmacy. 

24hr Pharmacy director and superintendent pharmacist Sehar Shahid spoke about running her online pharmacy, an area she says is "very male-dominated” and has had experiences where she’s been told “your husband must be a pharmacist” when running her business. 

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She said it’s important to “build your support system” and remember it’s “absolutely okay to ask for help”. 

“If you are in a position of leadership, please just reach out to other females because that's so important, especially when they're just starting off in the journey,” she said. 

Shahid added she’s made her workplace embrace women and give them opportunity to work but also “not compromise on the school drop offs and the pickups”. 

Leaders 

NPA vice-chair Sukhi Basra spoke about how women are already in leadership positions without realising it, and that should encourage you to go for roles that you want. 

“What you're doing is managing your home, managing your partnership with your spouse,” Basra said. “You're juggling so many things all at the same time. You are managing people.  

“So, you have already got the skills that it takes to be a very good leader. What you don't have is your own permission to go out there and reach for things that you thought were only located to certain groups of people.” 

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She added it’s important to have faith in yourself even if you think you may have not performed well at something. 

“I might have done terribly at my board meetings, and I probably have asked some of the stupidest questions. It's really fine because you grow and learn and you become less fearful of those situations. You just get better at it.” 

Networks and emotional intelligence 

Evergreen Pharmacy director Rifat Asghar-Hussain said how joining a network of female pharmacists helped her grow in confidence in her role. 

“When I first had the pharmacy, there was literally nobody that helped” she said. “I felt completely alone, and it was very difficult to learn. And then during Covid times, I spoke to pharmacist Reena Barai and we decided to create a network of female pharmacists.  

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“I learnt so much from there and more from there than I ever learned in the previous eight years that I had the pharmacy. 

“We give each other confidence and when I had a wobble, somebody will say, ‘no, you can do this’.” 

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Fieldway Pharmacy director and superintendent pharmacist Ifesi Anyamene said that women need to see their emotional intelligence as “a key skill, not a weakness”.

“Having emotional intelligence is one thing women are very good at. We're able to read a room. We read situations when a patient comes in.  

“So, when you're able to use key into your emotional intelligence and empathy, it works very well. Even with your staff, you're able to listen to people, see them, make them heard.” 

Imposter syndrome 

Basra also stressed how it’s important to not be overcome by imposter syndrome and that you “don’t edit yourself”. 

“The moment you go into a room and think you need to change who you are, you failed yourself,” she said. “Your presence is enough. Do what you know best, and if it’s meant to be and you’re meant to be at that table, people will see your value.  

“If they don’t see your value, you don’t need those people. I’m done with editing and I’m happy with who I am.” 

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Last week, Sobha Sharma Kandel told C+D about her path to entrepreneurship in our latest episode of the A Coffee With... podcast series.

Earlier this month, C+D spoke to foundation trainee pharmacist Ramisa Ahmed about the roles she’s had with the BPSA, PDA, IPSF and other organisations that have helped her gain valuable skills and introduced her to potential career paths.